Emma Freeman's travel blog about cruises

Curiouser and curiouser

In “The Cruel Sea” (27 Feb 2010) I mentioned a trick performed by one of our waiters, using two forks, a wineglass and a toothpick.

I still have no idea how it works, but it’s just appeared in a repeat episode of The Mentalist (The Thin Red Line, Series 1 Episode 8).

Although very slightly different, in that he rested the toothpick on its midpoint on the edge of the glass and then used a match to burn away the half hanging over the glass. He also used a spoon and a fork, rather than two forks. But other than that, the trick is the same and I STILL don’t have the faintest idea how or why it works.